Free Tool · Hidden Software Cost Calculator

What does your software
really cost you?

The monthly fee is the cheapest part. Add the re-entry time, the extra tools you bought to fill gaps, and the cost to switch, and see your true total plus a 5-year projection.

Built for contractors The 4 real costs Takes 2 minutes

The 4 costs of any software

Most people judge software by cost 1, the fee. But there are 3 more: the time your office spends re-typing data that never synced, the lost data when things get missed, and the switching cost to leave. Fill in your numbers below and this adds up all 4.
The re-entry minutes are an example starting point, not an industry figure. Put in your own honest number. Software prices you compare against were checked in July 2026; see the methodology panel near the bottom.

Your current software

The monthly price of your main platform.
How many people log in.
Set to 0 if your plan already includes all users.
Time your office spends re-keying data that did not sync. Example: 45.
What an hour of that office time is worth.
Separate apps you bought to fill gaps.
Rough average across those extra apps.
Contract exit, setup already paid, retraining. Leave 0 if unsure.

What it really costs

Visible cost / month
$0
fee + seats + extra tools
Hidden cost / month
$0
re-entry time, never on a bill
True total cost
$0
$0 per year  ·  $0 over 5 years
1. The fee
$0
The only number most people count.
2. The time
$0
Re-typing un-synced data, every day.
3. Lost data
Hard to see
Missed receipts and fat-fingered numbers show up as a job that looked profitable and was not.
4. Switching
$0
Contract, setup, and retraining to leave.
Want this in your inbox?
Email yourself the full true-cost report as a PDF, including your 5-year projection.

Hold it up against one connected system

Full platform on every plan, priced by how many people log in.
Your true cost / month (from above)$0
Project Tools plan / month$0
Project Tools hidden re-entry cost$0
You would save / month$0
You would save over 5 years$0
Project Tools syncs field receipts and expenses straight into QuickBooks, so the daily re-entry time is $0, and it is one platform, so there are no extra tools to buy. With the USA 250 Early Adopter Rate you take 25% off the base plan. See current pricing: BestDecisionProjectTools.com/pricing.

Methodology & sources

Your costs are your own inputs and simple math on them. The prices you compare against are real, dated, and listed below.

Prices, sources, and assumptions

How the math works. Visible = base fee + (seats × per-seat) + (extra tools × avg tool cost). Hidden = minutes/day ÷ 60 × your rate × 22 working days a month. True total = visible + hidden. The 5-year projection is true monthly × 60 plus your one-time switching cost.

FigureWhat it isSource · date

Example values (not industry data): the 45 minutes/day of re-entry and the 22 working days/month are example assumptions you can adjust; the "lost data" cost is shown as hard-to-see rather than a made-up dollar figure. Prices were live-verified on the Project Tools pricing page on July 10, 2026; current pricing lives on that page.

From Behind the Books · The show

The episode behind this calculator.

Joe on why the monthly fee is the cheapest part of your field service software, and how the re-entry time, the extra tools you bought to fill the gaps, and the cost to switch add up to the number nobody quotes you.

Watch on YouTube →
Behind the Books · The Real Cost of Field Service Software YouTube

Companion toolkit

The calculator gives you the number. The workbook keeps it honest.

This calculator runs your true total in two minutes. The free Hidden Software Cost Toolkit is the Excel version: list every tool you pay for, log the re-entry time, and watch the annual number move as you consolidate.

  • ■ Hidden Software Cost Calculator (Excel) — the full workbook: every tool, every seat, every hidden hour, with the 5-year projection built in